Biden calls Trump a 'climate arsonist' as US leader visits fire-ravaged West

US President Donald Trump arrived in California on Monday for briefings on the devastating wildfires scorching the Western US, after criticism from his Democrat rivals on his alleged muted response to the disaster.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, in a speech that day, branded Trump a "climate arsonist "for failing to acknowledge the role of global warming in the disaster.

Wildfires across Oregon, California and Washington have destroyed thousands of homes and a half dozen small towns since August, scorching more than 1.6 million hectares and killing at least 35 people. Fifty are reported missing in Oregon alone.